Nalu Week - Gratitude
by No1Bookworm
Summary: Lucy had never thought she'd say this, but she was kinda glad she was dumped. I mean, if she wasn't, she would have never met him. A random, cocky bartender who could cook up a mean creme of mushroom. Bartender AU


YAY ITS NALU WEEK! Here's my first, and probably only entry (we shall see) following the prompt for Day 2 - Gratitude. They might be just a little OOC here, just a bit. Hope you guys enjoy and happy nalu week! :)

* * *

Slamming the glass down, Natsu poured yet another drink.

It was a Friday night and the crowd was getting bigger by the second. Already the bartenders were bustling around, barely coping with all the orders. In fact, he himself was handling at least ten people, each with their own tabs opened.

As he served one man his order, his eyes caught on a flash of gold. A lady, probably around his age, had just walked in. Natsu pursed his lips as she made a beeline for the last empty seat on his side of the bar.

Oh boy.

Now, he didn't mean to judge or anything, but really, he's met enough bimbos trying to get drunk and into anybody's (including his own) pants. Sure, he enjoyed the attention at first. But as the months wore on, he just got tired of it. He's all for women, really. But the kind he had to deal with everyday in the bar, were way too shallow.

So when she sat down, ordered for a tab to be opened, he couldn't help but let out a huge, disappointed sigh. Too bad, she's pretty.

"Um, excuse me, but what was that for?" He snuck a peak at her face, noticing the finely sculpted eyebrows, the expressive warm cocoa eyes, the luscious lips pressed together in a thin line. Forget pretty, even when she's pissed off she was beautiful.

"Nothing miss. What'd you like to drink?"

"No, you are not switching the subject. What the hell was that sigh for?"

He raised his eyebrows. On any other day, he would've been impressed by the show of feistiness and stubbornness that could match his own. But it would seem she caught him at a bad day; Natsu really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Does it matter?" She scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Uh, yeah it does! What the hell's your problem? I mean, is it my fault I got dumped by my boyfriend of three years? Or that-" She paused to sniffle and rub her nose.

But it seemed whatever she was gonna say was put on hold as the sniffles evolved to restrained weeping as tears ran down her face.

Natsu's mind immediately processed three things. One, he was a big idiot for judging her too quickly. Two, she wasn't a senseless tramp. Three, a lot of things would look good on this girl, but tears weren't one of them. Grabbing a tissue box from under the bar, he all but shoved it on her face.

And in his haste to make up for his rudeness, he accidentally hit her nose.

"Ah shit. Um, I'm sorry, didn't mean to judge. Guess I'm not the only one who had a rough day." A small snort came from the blonde despite the wet trails on her face.

"You work at a bar, you're practically surrounded by people like that everyday." To say he felt stupid was an understatement.

"Well, yeah, but..um.. Yeah, never mind." The snort became a soft giggle, something like bells tinkling in the wind. He found himself wanting to hear more.

"Alright Mr. Smooth Talker, can I order now?"

"I'll have you know, I'm actually real smooth. You just caught me unaware."

"Uhuh."

Natsu worked tirelessly through the night. But through it all, he'd always find some time to show off to the blonde girl called Lucy. Whether it'd be juggling glasses, or displaying his strength by separating two reasonably huge guys, she'd notice, and even laugh a little while shaking her head.

But every time he'd look back at her, she'd be a little redder and a little more tipsy.

He'd approach her every now and then, and ask if she's had enough. But she'd merely shake her head and say, "Nah I'm good." Of course, as time wore on, her words got slurred and was said with much more enthusiasm.

So as soon as her head hit the table, he closed her tab and, with quick moment's thought, paid for her bill. Ever so cautiously, as not to startle the woman, he gently he prodded her shoulder.

"Lucy?" The blonde sluggishly moved her head to the sound of his voice, mumbling under her breath about how people couldn't seem to mind their own business.

"Mhmm.."

"I closed your tab, okay?" As soon as he posed the question, her head whipped, eyes slightly glazed but somehow burning at the same time.

"Whaddaya mean ya closed my tab? 'M not finished drowning.. I mean, do I look like 'm outta breath yet? Do I? M' not even wet.. Do you have a pool?" She had barely managed to finish her sentence before slamming her head back on the table. Either because she was simply unable to keep her head up, or she felt like wallowing in misery again, he did not know.

"Yeah, okay, I'm gonna get you home now. Where do you live?"

She put a finger on her chin, and paused to think. Seconds ticked by, and she was still sporting the same look.

"Uh, Luce?" He snapped his finger in front of her, trying to get her attention when suddenly-

"Drury Lane!" Lucy said it with so much conviction that he caught himself wondering if there was a Drury Lane in Los Angeles.

 _This woman_. He shook his head, and hesitantly got her phone. His thumb swiped right, and entered the main screen with no problem. No passcode? Huh. He went straight to the contacts list, but couldn't find any named Mom or Dad.

"Luce?" He let the nickname slip, but thankfully she didn't notice. Seeing as how she was too busy trying to braid his hair.

"Whaaat?"

"How do I call your parents?" She had given up braiding, much to his amusement, and had settled for running her hands through his hair.

"…can't." His facial features formed a confused expression. Does she mean she doesn't want to or..?

"Why?" Her hands stopped all together, and he found himself considering asking her continue.

"You can't." Her tone had gotten more serious.

" _Why_?" Natsu was getting tired of playing these guessing games. There was a limit as to how much one man can take in one night.

"They're dead." Oh. _Oh._ His head turned to face her and saw the same empty stare he sees in the mirror sometimes. Clearing his throat, he tried a different approach.

"Where do you live then?" Her face all of a sudden lit up, and started belting out the words to a Celine Dion classic.

"...All byy myseeelf!" _Well she rebounds fast_ , he thought dryly as she continued singing. Looks like he's gonna have to do this by himself.

After an eternity of countless scrolling, he finally found her address and nearly let out a whoop of joy. Natsu grabbed his as well as her bag, and carefully lifted her. Didn't want any puke on his clothes. Thankfully she didn't even get a chance too; they were able to flag down a cab not five minutes after exiting the club.

"Natsuuu," Lucy was now leaning on his shoulder, peaking at him through her now wild and unkempt hair.

"Uh, yeah?" He all of a sudden felt nervous as she trailed a finger down his chest. I mean, she was completely drunk. And he was a normal guy with hormones. But then, to his mild confusion and slight relief, she held his waist for leverage, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you." And with that, her head lolled back to his shoulder, and seemingly fell asleep.

As he rattled out the address to the driver and tucked her head under his chin, he couldn't help but think that the guy who dumped her was a blind bastard and couldn't see a keeper even if she bit him in the ass.

Or kicked him in the balls.

* * *

She shifted in her sleep, hoping to get more comfy in the sheets, but instead her eyes were assaulted by sunlight pouring into the room through her curtains. Lucy let out a yawn and was just about to get up when a sudden throbbing in her head rendered her completely immobile.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Startled at the unknown voice, she whipped around. She could barely catch a glimpse of pink hair before clutching her head and flopping back down none too gently.

"Or that." _Oh hell no_. She could practically feel the smugness dripping from his tone.

"Yeah, do you mind shutting up?" She knew she was supposed to be freaking out over the fact that there was a stranger in her house, but for some reason all she felt was annoyance. A click of a tongue and the sound of footsteps coming closer snatched her from her thoughts.

"Only trying to help Luce." _Luce?_ While she was still trying to remember why that nickname felt so familiar coming from him, he had reached her bed and set down a glass of water and advil on her bedside table.

"Swallow that down and freshen up. When you're done, there's soup on the stove. You don't mind creme of mushroom right?"

"Uh, uh yeah, I don't mind…" Slowly, she lifted herself up from the bed, and reached for the meds.

"I'd help you get up and everything but I figured you wouldn't take too kindly to a stranger touching you."

"Damn right." As she drank it down, she subtly cast a glance at the stranger. He was muscular, seemed just a bit taller than her, and eyes coloured with a shade she couldn't decide on. Was it green? Black? Onyx? But the one feature that stood out the most, was his hair. His very spiky, very _pink_ hair.

Apparently his hair was a trigger point, because now all sorts of memories from the night before had begun to resurface.

Him struggling to find her keys, her falling asleep on his shoulder, him paying her tab, and… And her, getting dumped in the worst way possible.

It seemed he had noticed the change of mood, because he had suddenly shifted from standing against her windowsill, to quietly and carefully wrapping his arms around her.

She didn't know when the tears started. But as soon as she noticed, she couldn't bring herself to stop. She needed this, and somehow he knew it too. Natsu, she had finally remembered his name, didn't say anything, rather opting for holding her for as long as she needed him too.

* * *

It was well into the afternoon when they'd finally settled down on the dining table, enjoying the companionable silence while silently slurping on the now lukewarm soup.

It was Lucy who broke the silence first.

"Um, thank you for taking care of me. I really appreciate it. But, uh, you can leave now if you want to. I mean, I'm sure you have somewhere to be, right?"

"Nah, not really. Besides, who else is gonna finish up the rest of the soup." Lucy felt a rush of warmth and relief spread through her chest. She didn't really want him to leave. Feeling anxious to continue conversation, she quickly switched subject.

"Speaking of which, that was some good creme of mushroom. Did you make it?" Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"You see any other random stranger wandering around your house?" She tutted and lightly smacked his arm.

"You know what I mean! Like, did you make it from scratch, or did you heat up the ones in a can?" He sat up a littler straighter, and gave her a proud smirk.

"Nope. I did this all from scratch."

"Oh… That explains the horrible aftertaste." His face erupted in a blush, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he was able to say something.

"I thought you said it was good!" _This is just too easy._

"Nah. Only said that to make you admit it." Natsu looked utterly defeated. He slouched in his seat, and started muttering to himself.

"Well, I thought it was pretty okay…" His pout was the last straw. Lucy couldn't hold it anymore, and she burst out laughing.

He was startled by her outburst, but soon realised he'd been tricked.

"You little-Come here!" With a shriek Lucy leaped from her chair and sped off to her bedroom, laughing all the way. But he was a lot faster than her, and he caught up to her quickly, immediately tackling her to the bed.

A tickle fight ensued straightaway. Add pillows into the mix and soon they were one mess of feathers and breathless giggles on the floor.

"Hey Natsu?" He merely grunted, still trying to regain his breath.

"Thank you." It was a while before he responded. But when he did, she wondered why she even bothered.

"For beating you up with a pillow? You're such a weirdo Luce." Grabbing a pillow, she slammed it on his face. But as soon as he got the offensive cushion off his face, she was there.

"Uh, Luce?" She looked down on him with a warm, yet serious gaze. Her hair had fallen out from the confines of her messy bun sometime during their fight and was now framing her face, forming some sort of curtain, so that all he could see was her. He felt his breath hitch and he wondered, not for the first time, _where has this girl been all my life?_

"I mean it, Natsu. Thank you." He seemed to contemplate what she said, and right before she thought he still didn't get it, he scoffed and pulled her down for a hug.

"Anytime Luce." They stayed like that for a while, but Lucy had other plans. She lifted her head, and regarded him with curious eyes.

"What?" She simply smiled and said, "I know how crazy this is going to sound, but I feel like kissing you."

He couldn't contain his smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

And so they did.

* * *

Hmm I'll admit it was a lot longer than planned, and the ending was kinda rushed but alas, this is all my school work allows. Thanks again for reading and don't forget to leave a review! :)


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